Lots of parents are home schooling their kids during the coronavirus pandemic. And experts say adding personal finance to the curriculum is a great idea.
They have some suggestions on how to get going, too: Have your kids start a business. For instance, help them make jewelry or slime and then, together, set up an online site to sell their goods.
CNBC says some kids may even enjoy learning how to do stock trading — the London Stock Exchange has a fantasy game for kids.
And, of course, there’s always paying them an allowance in exchange for doing chores. Not surprisingly, most of the chores involve helping clean the house that they’re stuck in.
The allowance and money app RoosterMoney says a lot of kids are spending their allowance in lockdown on video games — like Minecraft, Fortnite and Lego. But an impressive 39% of allowances are being saved.
According to a RoosterMoney survey, some of the most popular chores right now include those they can do around the house — like making their beds and cleaning their rooms, feeding and walking the family dog, taking out trash and recycling and doing the laundry.
If you give kids the chance to think up their own way to make extra money, you might be surprised.
Then, have the discussion about how much that job is worth, said Tim Sheehan, the CEO of Greenlight, which provide debit cards and savings accounts for kids.
He says kids quickly learn that money doesn’t grow on trees — you have to earn it.
There are a couple of places for parents to find personal finance tools for kids. One is at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s website under the section called “money as you grow.”
Another is the nonprofit Khan Academy. There are free videos on money, taxes and even options, swaps and futures.
Research says that money habits are formed as early as 7 years old and that the best facilitators are parents. Engaging in personal finance practices seems like a perfect match.
